Modern approaches to the treatment of human infertility through assisted reproduction

Medical statistics from the United States show approximately 15 percent of all couples of reproductive age are unable to conceive naturally. In recent years, the numbers of couples with reproductive problems has increased, principally due to changes in life style and delayed childbearing. Only 13 years after the birth of the first "test tube baby", advances in the field of human reproduction have created a wide range of alternatives to help infertile couples conceive a healthy infant. Together, these techniques are called Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and include: in vitro fertilization (IVF), intratubal transfer of gametes (GIFT), intratubal transfer of zygotes (ZIFT), tubal transfer of preimplantation embryos (TET), gamete or embryo donation, cryopreservtion, and micromanipulation. The application of these techniques is presented here. While much remains to be learned, the ability to fertilize ova in vitro and sustain early embryonic life outside the body is now a reality. Contrary to the idea that these techniques create life in vitro, they simply remove barriers caused by different forms of infertility which impede the creation of life. More than 30,000 infants have now been produced world-wide through ART. In the future, new developments in the field of assisted reproduction promise to bring new hope to the growing numbers of infertile couples around the world.